Harmonic Series Quotation

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

If you’d like to start your week with a laugh, here’s a great quote:

Today I said to the calculus students, “I know, you’re looking at this series and you don’t see what I’m warning you about. You look and it and you think, ‘I trust this series. I would take candy from this series. I would get in a car with this series.’ But I’m going to warn you, this series is out to get you. Always remember: The harmonic series diverges. Never forget it.”

—Rudbeckia Hirta
Learning Curves Blog: The Harmonic Series
quoting Alexandre Borovik

Why Study Mathematics?

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
by d3 Dan via flickr

[Rescued from my old blog.]

What teacher hasn’t heard a student complain, “When am I ever going to have to use this?” Didn’t most of us ask it ourselves, once upon a time? And unless we choose a math-intensive career like engineering, the truth is that after we leave school, most of us will never again use most of the math we learned. But if math beyond arithmetic isn’t all that useful, then what’s the point?

If you or your student is singing the Higher Math Blues, here are some quotations that may cheer you up — or at least give you the strength of vision to keep on slogging.

We study mathematics…

Continue reading Why Study Mathematics?

Math Quotes V: A Man Is Like a Fraction…

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

[Rescued from my old blog.]

The blackboard quotes for my math class have been a bit more philosophical the last few weeks:

A good problem should be more than a mere exercise; it should be challenging and not too easily solved by the student, and it should require some “dreaming” time.

—Howard Eves
An Introduction to the History of Mathematics

Continue reading Math Quotes V: A Man Is Like a Fraction…

Math Quotes III: Five out of Four People

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

[Rescued from my old blog.]

I’ve been procrastinating my preparations for co-op classes this week, but I think I’m ready. I almost forgot the scissors, but now I have them in my bag, so we will be able to cut the “infinite pizza” pieces. And I have two fun quotes for the blackboard:

Continue reading Math Quotes III: Five out of Four People

Math Quotes II: The Ultimate Goal of Mathematics

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

[Rescued from my old blog.]

I thought you might enjoy the quote I’m going to use on the blackboard in math class:

The clearer the teacher makes it, the worse it is for you. You must work things out for yourself and make the ideas your own.

—William F. Osgood, quoted in
Out of the Mouths of Mathematicians
by Rosemary Schmalz

Continue reading Math Quotes II: The Ultimate Goal of Mathematics

I’m Ba-a-a-ack! (Math Quotes of the Week I)

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

[Rescued from my old blog.]

My computer and I seem to have come to a temporary truce: I pretend I’m never going to shut it off again, and it pretends it’s always going to come back if I do have to reboot. (Nope, no new computer in the offing at this point. We’re just at a cease fire here, until the next big thunderstorm throws a power outage at us…) So I thought it was high time for me to get back into the habit of blog posting.

Continue reading I’m Ba-a-a-ack! (Math Quotes of the Week I)

Math Humor, and Some Copywork Resources

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

[Rescued from my old blog.]

I have been reading up on Charlotte Mason’s teaching style, and I plan to incorporate more copywork and dictation into our school program next year. Here are a few of my favorite funny quotes about math. (These would also make great blackboard quotes for a math classroom.)

Continue reading Math Humor, and Some Copywork Resources